Clippers Chances at Higher Seed

I recently wrote that the clipper "might" win out. I got some heat and I understand the tall task that would be. I admit that there is only a slight chance of that happening.

My point with that thread was more to point out the lightness on paper of our schedule and the improvement of our team.

I have done a little homework and here I will do a little write up of our chances at getting a higher seed. I think 3 seed VERY likely. 2 seed is doable. 1 seed is a stretch but not as impossible as it looks. 1 overall? slim but NOT 0.

I have here the schedule of "inter-big-7 matchups" What are the big 7? IND,MIA,LAC,SAS,OKC,HOU,POR. these are the 7 teams at the top of the NBA. Currently only 4.5 games separate these 7 teams. the next team is 4 games behind that, so we can clearly see these 7 are the class of the NBA.

Looking at the games left the clippers just have to worry about themselves because the other teams will loose plenty just because they are facing each other so much. This is NOT a scenario were we need to win and then hope say the BOBCATS beat a team we are chasing, no the other 6 teams will lose based solely on VOLUME of inter-big-7 games left. So below you will see the numbers and schedule.

home away total

sas 2 3 5

ind 2 2 4

okc 2 3 5

lac 1 2 3

hou 5 3 8

por 1 3 4

mia 3 2 5

3/6/14

mia @ sas

3/7/14

ind @ hou

3/9/14

por @ hou

3/11/14

hou @ okc

3/12/14

por @ sas

3/16/14

hou @ mia

3/24/14

por@mia

3/26/14

mia@ind

3/29/14

lac@hou

3/31/14

sas@ind

4/3/14

sas@okc

4/4/14

okc@hou

4/9/14

okc@lac

4/11/14

ind@mia

4/13/14

okc@ind

4/14/14

sas@hou

4/16/14

lac@por

ClipperKyle32

03/05/2014 - 10:37 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 3322

votes: 27

Portland OKC and Houston left!!? WoW! I wouldn't exclude any matchups with The Grizzlies Warriors or Suns! I knew it would come a point were all these teams would play each other and someone will....

We don't need to win out. We just need the 2 seed, Redick back, and total team chemistry and confidence going into the playoffs.

CP3Best

03/05/2014 - 11:48 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 5064

votes: 13

I can see us getting the 3 seed, but I feel like the 2nd seed is just too far away considering the spurs and how good they are.

jarca

03/06/2014 - 12:05 AM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 8694

votes: 40

It's all about match up the west. GSW, Memphis, and Suns are all bad match up. There's no gimme.

itsLuigi

03/06/2014 - 12:06 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 909

votes: 3

if we stay at the 3 seed we'll probably end up going against the warriors in the 1st round.

ClipTakeover

03/06/2014 - 12:43 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 785

votes: 2

I don't think that GS is a bad match-up for us. If you consider the facts, being we are one of the best (if not the best) 3pt defense in the NBA right now. Then you take into mind that GS practically lives off that 3 point line. I just think that we are brewing rivalry, so it makes it seem like a worse match-up than it is.

uncool

03/06/2014 - 12:49 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 955

votes: 5

^ When teams trap Curry up top, GSW's offense falls apart.

backinblue

03/06/2014 - 01:01 AM PST

Posts: 97

votes: 0

really all we can bank on is Home Court Advantage in the first round...hopefully one of those top 2 squads (San Antonio, OKC) gets upset in the 1st round, allowing us to hold Home Court in the 2nd round.

Mathematically possible but unlikely we take 1st or 2nd in West

Jerediscool

03/06/2014 - 01:23 AM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1937

votes: 25

honestly we might be best off staying at the 4 seed and playing either portland or houston in the first round

ClipperKyle32

03/06/2014 - 05:50 AM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 3322

votes: 27

Well here is our current remaining schedule. Suns - Monday and Warriors - Wednesday. It will be a tough stretch. I am not afraid of these Warriors in the first round. Yeah they are a....

I'm with you bro... I believe we can beat any team if we keep the same kind of defense we are doing right now... I don't believe we are a bad matchup against GSW we played badly against them last time but that was a back-to-back game it was a guaranteed win and without cp3 which can lock on curry esp. on the perimeter... while i can understand why we don't like matching up with mephis, i do think we can beat them at 5 or 6 game in playoffs Zbo can longer check on blake just watch the last game we played with them we lose that game but blake got 30+ points were in previous game blake only averages 14 points a game when we matchup with them... Blake griffin will be the key for us winning the playoff series

keephopealive

03/06/2014 - 01:11 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

this is NOT about avoiding or hoping for a particular opponent in the first round. We are facing either POR,HOU,GSW,PHX,DAL OR MEM in the first round. If I had MY pick I quite frankly don't know who i'd pick, probably dallas but besides that they are all equally scary and challenging. I don't think the clippers should play the lets position ourselves to face (fill in the blank) or avoid (fill in the blank).

The GOAL is to 1. get HCA in the first round by either finishing ahead of either HOU/POR or both which is not a given. 2. get HCA in the second round by getting 2 seed. 3. get HCA in the WCF by getting the 1 seed. 4. get HCA in the Finals by being 1 overall seed.

is the least likely

possible.

very good chance

almost for sure

those should be the goals.

namzug

03/06/2014 - 01:24 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1293

Location: So Cal

votes: 13

I definitely agree that we can beat any team. I also don't think there are really any easy teams in the West; I think that if we could position ourselves to the point where OKC and SAS have to play each other before they have to play us that is a plus. If we could throw Memphis and Goldenstate into their bracket too that would be an extra bonus.

Ideally (doesn't mean it would be easy), we could match up against Dallas first and play the winner of Portland vs. Houston. While OKC has to play Memphis, San Antonio has to play Goldenstate, and then winners face off. This is not due to thinking we can't beat any of these teams in a series, but due more to having whoever we face off against in the WC finals go through two grueling series'. I'm a strong believer that this has benefited the Eastern Conference team champ the last so many years. Mia has gotten the benefit of playing less grueling series throughout the playoffs and being just a bit fresher for the Finals (not that they wouldn't win either way, but that is probably a big help).

Icecoldclipper

03/06/2014 - 01:36 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 9593

votes: 21

We need to climb as high as possible we have been very suspect on the road this year. Team feeds off the crowds and when we go into different arenas if the crowd gets into the game we seem to hit bad lapses. May be true of most teams we just play at a whole different level at home so the more home games the better.

clipnasty

03/06/2014 - 01:53 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1301

votes: 14

Spurs actually have some tough games coming up:

Heat tonight

@Chicago on 3/11

Portland on 3/12 (b2b)

@ GSW on 3/22

@ Denver on 3/28

@ Indy on 3/31

GSW on 4/2

@ OKC on 4/3 (b2b)

Memphis on 4/6

Phx on 4/11 (b2b after Dallas the night before)

@ Hou on 4/14

You have to figure they will lose at 3-5 of those games, which gives us a shot of catching them....

kjavis

03/06/2014 - 03:47 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1375

votes: 5

Should be aiming for highest seed. 2 is realistic but 1 would be even better, clips are clearly a much better team playing at home, we need that homecourt advantage as far into the PO as possible to give ourselves a chance at a deep run

kjavis

03/06/2014 - 04:12 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1375

votes: 5

Miami @SA tonight, heat lost their last game so don't see them going back to back, lets hope they can put the spurs away

namzug

03/06/2014 - 05:58 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1293

Location: So Cal

votes: 13

The Rockets have the Pacers next too, I'm also hoping the Mavs beat Portland. Let's go ahead and start making our way to #2.

keephopealive

03/06/2014 - 06:11 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

Seeing all these other teams play each other and salivating at the opportunity of catching them has given me a weird feeling we might blow it losing to the lakers,hawks and bucks of the world. Please Clippers take care of business with all these easy games.

dopeneon2010

03/06/2014 - 08:01 PM PST

Clipper Rookie

Posts: 91

votes: 0

the spurs are beating the Heat , can ya believe that.

i want us to be in the 2nd seed ASAP haha

keephopealive

03/06/2014 - 08:57 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

The heat ALWAYS have one good run every game they are down, lets go phoenix too.

clips15deep

03/06/2014 - 11:03 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 354

votes: 1

I feel like Phoenix keeps taking out the teams we are chasing, props to them.

clips15deep

03/06/2014 - 11:04 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 354

votes: 1

Charles Barkley just said we are going to win the West. What did I just hear?

keephopealive

03/06/2014 - 11:13 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

I almost teared up. When we get jj,jamal and Dudley back well be 11 deep. I think turkoglu can contribute once his conditioning gets better. We are starting to peak at the right time. The stars and planets are aligning! #itstime!

Laak

03/06/2014 - 11:15 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 858

votes: 4

Man, I'm praying for Spurs 1st seed now. 2nd or 3rd against OKC is best outcome.

keephopealive

03/08/2014 - 10:15 AM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

3 seed 1/2 a game away. 2,1 and 1 overall exactly the same 4 games away from the loss column. After houston loses to portland or okc, number 1 overall here we come.

namzug

03/08/2014 - 12:48 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1293

Location: So Cal

votes: 13

Am I missing something is Hou better than what I think. Are we just a good match up? They seem to be giving everyone trouble, but I don't see them as real contenders just yet.

CLIPSET

03/08/2014 - 02:37 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 580

votes: 0

I think Houston is a serious contender. They did really well last year in the PO and the addition of D12 helps. They might surprise some ppl.

ClippersDA

03/08/2014 - 05:27 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 3993

votes: 12

I think id rather play the blazers than the warriors - not sure how advantageous 3rd seed is.

tense2

03/08/2014 - 07:22 PM PST

CTB MVP X3

Posts: 10383

votes: 24

Getting to the #1 or 2 seed is possible just not highly probable. It's layout nicely in this article by Steve Perrin:

hou @ okc. Hope houston wins? To get closer to okc? Miami will take care of Houston later in the week?

3/12/14

por @ sas. Hope portland wins or have sas give us more separation from Portland?

3/16/14

hou @ mia. Miami all the way, silver lining if miami losses we get a tad closer to.Miami.

3/24/14

por@mia. Miami

3/26/14

mia@ind. Meh

3/29/14

lac@hou. LAC

3/31/14

sas@ind. Indy

4/3/14

sas@okc. Win/win but well see how standing are in a month

4/4/14

okc@hou. "Same as game above"

4/9/14

okc@lac. LAC

4/11/14

ind@mia. Meh

4/13/14

okc@ind. Indy

4/14/14

sas@hou. Well see

4/16/14

lac@por. LAC

Clippers_FTW

03/11/2014 - 02:41 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 4704

votes: 11

OKC being smart ... Losing on purpose so they don't have to play Memphis

namzug

03/11/2014 - 03:17 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1293

Location: So Cal

votes: 13

That's fine, it's not like Golden State is going to be much better. I don't really mind getting Memphis, but I think I'm in the minority. I think it would be great for our team to have a solid showing and show just how much we have improved in the last year by putting a whooping on them. I would also like San Antonio to have to run into Houston on the way up, because for some reason I don't think they match up well with Houston.

Either way after taking a second glance at the teams that look to be entering the playoffs only Dallas looks like a team that I would consider out of place (not necessarily an easy out). With that said, as long as the Clippers are playing great Defense and moving the ball I think we can beat any team in the league in a series.

slestack11

03/12/2014 - 01:31 AM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1071

votes: 6

It would be nice to have home court advantage for the first and second round. Rockets just lost tonight so hopefully they lose another two @Chicago and @Miami. We need to beat the Warriors and then we get Utah, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee, and New Orleans in the next 6. We could go on a 15 game winning streak before playing @Dallas.

keephopealive

03/13/2014 - 12:24 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

Considering Portland recent collapse and memphis and golden state getting hot, they have officially joined the party so I will now include matchups with those two teams as well for two reasons. 1. the way they are playing they are as hard a matchup as houston and portland. 2. there is A LOT of talk of lets avoid (gsw or mem) in the first round so clippers fans will be watching those games closely as playoff matchups shape up down the stretch.

the possibilities have just gotten ridiculous. We can face portland,GSW or MEM as a 4-5,3-6 or even a 2-7 matchup. Portland can fall as low as 7!!!!!!!! 1 seed is not likely our best hope is the 2 seed. Por,gsw and memphis will occupy 5-7 so Dallas is also not likely since they are likely stuck at 8th. Its pick your poison time. Mem,GSW or Por?

home away total

sas 2 4 6

ind 3 2 5

okc 1 3 4

lac 1 2 3

hou 3 1 4

por 1 4 5

mia 4 2 6

mem 2 4 6

gsw 2 3 5

3/16/14

hou @ mia

3/16/14

gsw@por

03/21/14

mem@mia

3/22/14

ind@mem

3/22/14

sas@gsw

3/24/14

por@mia

3/26/14

mia@ind

3/28/14

mem@gsw

3/29/14

lac@hou

3/30/14

mem@por

3/31/14

sas@ind

4/2/14

gsw@sas

4/3/14

sas@okc

4/4/14

okc@hou

4/6/14

mem@sas

4/9/14

mia@mem

4/9/14

okc@lac

4/11/14

ind@mia

4/13/14

okc@ind

4/13/14

gsw@por

4/14/14

sas@hou

4/16/14

lac@por

Laak

03/13/2014 - 03:38 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 858

votes: 4

Getting 2nd place or maybe even 1st is completely possible now. Think we'll be 7-1 or 8-0 in next 8 games, mostly depending on how we'll do back to back in Dallas and Houston.

Wgreen

03/13/2014 - 03:40 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 108

votes: 0

But if you get 3rd seed you might get to play the Warriors. I would think you would want that just for the pure ''entertainment''. I would like that, regardless of who wins. It would be a fun series. I would like Warriors 6th to play the 3rd place Clipps.

cleepers

03/13/2014 - 04:40 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 9798

votes: 130

^ And if we get the 2nd seed, we still might play the warriors... Memphis is sneaking up on you and it wouldn't surprise me if those duds started playing like whipped dogs after getting their arses handed to them last night.

Wgreen

03/13/2014 - 04:46 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 108

votes: 0

Not really, Memphis has been within a couple games for quite a while. But last night's game wasn't really reflective of the final score. The Clippers won by 13, but never led by more than 13 throughout the whole game. I mean it was just a good win for the Clipps, they didn't exactly kick the Warriors ''arses.'' A win is a win, but that's all last night was.

cleepers

03/13/2014 - 04:52 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 9798

votes: 130

^ Watch out for those grizzlies... they're coming to getcha!

Wgreen

03/13/2014 - 04:53 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 108

votes: 0

That's not so important though. But the Warriors have a lot of home games so if they take care of business, they should be 6 or even 5. Portland could drop too.

cleepers

03/13/2014 - 04:55 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 9798

votes: 130

^ Easier said than done when they've lost a third of their home games so far.

A_DOG_NAMED_BUD

03/13/2014 - 04:57 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1495

votes: 10

Of the 16 games remaining, our most difficult games are @ Dallas on 3/27, @ Houston 3/29, @ Minnesota 3/31, @ Phoenix 4/2, vs OKC 4/9, and @ Portland 4/16. I see us going at least 13-3 the rest of the way. That would put us 59-23; a 3 game improvement over last season. Hopefully that's enough for us to get the 2 or 3 seed.

keephopealive

03/13/2014 - 07:36 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 213

votes: 1

we have 2 weeks before the next "hard" game against dallas. If Jamal and/or JJ come back by then I seriously think we can win out.

clipnasty

03/14/2014 - 11:51 AM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1301

votes: 14

I think we end up with the 2 seed. OKC has several tough road B2Bs, including one against us. The problem with getting the 2, I think Memphis will be 7 and they are heating up....

ClipperPostman

03/14/2014 - 12:38 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 2529

votes: 24

I never liked the idea of trying to get a seed because you are

"scared" of an opponent. That's so lame to me. I believe clippers

are the best team in the NBA and will beat whoever in a 7 game series.

I'll take memphis, warriors, whoever.

jarca

03/14/2014 - 01:16 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 8694

votes: 40

Portland is a finese team. That's the team I want to play so we don't get too banged up

ClippersDA

03/14/2014 - 01:28 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 3993

votes: 12

Memphis would be a disaster - we can handle anyone else.

A_DOG_NAMED_BUD

03/14/2014 - 01:52 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1495

votes: 10

Agreed. If they're not hitting the 3 ball, we can definitely take care of them relatively easily. Since we hold our opponents to a league low 32.9% from beyond the arc, I really like our chances against Portland.

I also like our odds against Houston since we've beat them 3 times already. Surprising, I would rather play the 4 and 5 teams rather than 6 and 7, Golden State and Memphis. I think we would still beat GSW and Memphis, but we would end up tired and beat up afterwards since they're both physical teams.